Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A Wall Street adviser leaves early for work to avoid panhandlers at his suburban train station. In coal country, a suddenly homeless man watches from a bench as wealthy women shop for dresses. A down-and-out waitress sits glumly on her stoop across the street from a gleaming suburb.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board upset many investors when it forced out Mark Hurd as CEO nearly two months ago. Now, those directors appear to have baffled Wall Street with its selection of HP's new leader — Leo Apotheker, who lost his job running German business software maker SAP earlier this year after he didn't live up to expectations.

PARIS (AP) — Hybrids and electric cars may get top billing. But at the Paris Auto Show, conventional engines are showing they have plenty of mileage left.
New gas and diesel models have carbon emissions not far behind those of hybrids, and there's nothing old-fashioned about their small size and highly efficient internal combustion technology.

NEW YORK (AP) — Growth in the manufacturing sector likely continued in September but at a slightly slower pace, economists say.
Makers of goods such as PCs, autos, furniture and factory machinery helped pull the economy out from the recession because of overseas sales and strong demand from businesses that needed to replenish their stockpiles of goods.

RIDGID (Elyria, OH) has introduced the new all-in-one CS1000 digital recording monitor, which is compatible with all RIDGID SeeSnake reels. It also consists of an upgraded LCD Pak , as well as a durable keyboard. The LCD Pak is designed for performance and durability, with a lightweight design and battery-powered mobility, and has a 12.

FCT Assembly (Milpitas, CA) has introduced its RMA250 Solder Paste, which is a rosin-based chemistry designed to provide repeatability and consistency in the printing process. The paste offers an extended abandon time and excellent soldering activity with all surface finishes, according to the company.

igus (East Providence, RI) is offering an energy tube for the machine-tool industry that is nearly 100 percent chip-proof, according to the company. The RX energy tube ensures debris simply falls off due to its smooth domed outer contour. In addition, internal testing has confirmed that the energy tube is nearly 100 percent airtight.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy is ordering $5.3 billion worth of F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from Boeing Co.
Boeing says the order is for 124 aircraft to be delivered between 2012 and 2015.
The order includes 66 Super Hornets and 58 of its new Growlers, which are two-seat jets equipped with radar-jamming equipment and other gear to knock out a wide array of electronic devices.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. offered a rosy financial outlook Tuesday without giving any guidance on the biggest issue hanging over the world's largest technology company: the identity of its next CEO.
The leading maker of personal computers and printers has been looking for a new leader since its board pressured Mark Hurd, its CEO of five years, to step down in an early August scandal revolving around allegations of sexual harassment and deceptive expense reports.

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the tools that teachers use to get kids jazzed about science — hands-on science kits — could face an uncertain future amid a debate on safety.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been mired for weeks in deliberation as it writes guidelines on what makes a product a "children's product.

NEW YORK (AP) — Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest marker of construction and mining equipment, said Wednesday it plans to open a new facility in Wujiang, China, to build mini hydraulic excavators.
The company currently supplies Chinese customers with mini excavators produced at a facility in Xuzhou, China, and with machines produced in Sagami, Japan.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Webster City company is close to beginning production of electric vehicles.
AMS Inc. owner Joe Fleming says the firm is about two weeks away from producing the autos and is putting final preparations in place. The Webster City Freeman Journal reports Tuesday that the company will start out assembling about 38 cars a week and increase that to about 100 cars a week in December.

CRETE, Neb. (AP) — Investigators say the man who shot three co-workers at a cold-storage warehouse in southeast Nebraska and then fatally shot himself had argued with the woman he shot 11 times.
The Saline County Sheriff's office released an update Tuesday on its investigation of the Sept.

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Chocolate maker Hershey has gained township approval for a $200 million expansion project that would shift production from a century-old plant to a modern facility nearby.
Derry Township supervisors on Tuesday approved the final land development plans for the 243,000-square-foot expansion at a plant in West Hershey.

Seatek Company (Stamford, CT) has introduced a new model in its Roto-Split line — the RS-101B — which is equipped with an auto-clamping feature that eliminates the need for a thumb screw when cutting different sizes of AC/MC cable. Any cable from 14-2 to 10-4 or 3/8” Flex is secured just by squeezing the bottom lever, preventing the application of too much force to aluminum casing.

Emerson Process Management (Austin, TX) has extended the capabilities of its CSI 9420 Wireless Vibration Transmitter to deliver more detailed information for machinery analysis. The CSI 9420 can now also use Emerson’s Smart Wireless network to send high-resolution spectra to vibration expects for detailed diagnosis of machinery issues.

The first column of this series discussed strategies for minimizing the risks of terminating a distribution relationship by carefully structuring the relationship from the beginning. In this column, we identify strategies for minimizing the risks of termination during the contract term.